Xiaomi, one of the biggest and most innovative breakout brand this year, will be releasing another product through an online flash sale tomorrow: the Redmi Note 4G.
At only S$229, the Redmi Note 4G sports a cool 5.5-inch HD IPS display, a 13-megapixel camera that takes beautiful HDR photos, runs on Android 4.4 with MIUI v5, is powered by a 1.6GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor, and is lighter than the Redmi Note by 10g.
Prior to the flash sales tomorrow, we managed to lay our hands on the Redmi Note 4G. Here’s a quick look at the device:
Specs Comparison:
To give you a better idea of Redmi Note 4G, HardwareZone also did a fantastic job in comparing the various specs of Xiaomi phones in Singapore:
What We Like About The Phone:
One of the boldest changes with Redmi Note 4G is that the MIUI comes with no app drawer by default. This is good news for those familiar with the iOS: every app you download it will be on the home screen. You no longer need to go to the app drawer screen to drag the apps onto the homescreen to access it.
We kind of like the design of the MIUI too. With the MIUI v5 as its UI overlay, Redmi Note 4G is intuitive and easy to use. As a smartphone user, the operating system makes up a big part of the purchasing behaviour: but with MIUI v5 as well as the customized app drawer removal, even new Xiaomi users will be familiar with the operating system in no time.
Another thing we like about Redmi Note 4G is that it is really really affordable. At S$229, Xiaomi has killed the smartphone market by introducing affordable but high powered smartphones, making devices such as Redmi Note 4G perfect gifts for your parents or friends.
What We Don’t Like About The Phone:
While the Redmi Note 4G is an improvement from the Redmi Note device in terms of weigh (185g), Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is lighter at 176g while the iPhone 6 Plus is at 172g. We carry our phones with us all the time, so portability and weight plays a big part of our purchasing decision. To be fair to Redmi Note 4G though, I’m currently using the iPhone 6 which weighs 129g, hence at first feel, the Redmi Note 4G still feels a bit heavy for my personal likings.
Redmi Note 4G comes with a 13 megapixel camera. However, at the first few test shots, the photo quality in low lightings turned out to be noisy and bad in quality.
It is also very strange for Redmi Note 4G to still use a traditional sized SIM card slot. Most smartphones these days come with micro-SIM card slots (nano sim for iPhones). This will definitely be an inconvenience for users who are switching from other devices. Also, Redmi Note 4G doesn’t come with a dual sim slot, an increasingly important factor for customers nowadays.
Verdict:
Overall, the Redmi Note 4G is great as a gift for your friends, or your parents because of its affordability. It is also a great smartphone for users who are using smartphones for the first time – like your younger siblings. It is functional, easy to use, and is an easy entry point into the Android ecosystem. For those looking for better performing smartphones, we would still stick with the iPhone 6, which costs at least 4 times more than the Redmi Note 4G.